After our lengthy flight overseas along with long waits between flights in spite of our best of planning, we found ourselves finally through the chaos of passport control and on the tour bus. Only twelve in our tour which certainly made it easy for getting in and out of museums, etc.
Although we landed in London, we almost immediately drove a couple of hours outside of London to Hungarford which turned out to be a beautiful little village/town. Lots of thatched roofs, a canal running through the area, and even a small 'river' flowing outside our room window. There was a private residence in sight of our window and we enjoyed seeing a picture-perfect sight of an elderly lady working in her garden.
Yes, we were very tired after the flight but had six hours under the welcome dinner so my son and I cleaned up a bit and headed out to check out the town. Very small town but lots of traffic with very little sign of any speed limits. That fact, along with the driving on the opposite side of the street, kept us on our toes and no driver seemed to want to settle for taking prisoners!
We enjoyed checking out the small shops, got some warm jelly donuts to snack on, and just ventured in and out of the little streets. We even found a war memorial which sort of gave us a jump start to our adventure. The weather was brisk but the walking kept us comfortable and, after all, we were in England! It was the first time overseas for my son so you can imagine his reactions and enjoyment to all that was different.
Jet lag caught up with us and we decided a nap before the late dinner was in order but jet lag worked against us and we, again, headed out for a walk about an hour before dinner. Interesting . . . small town but they had a huge car dealership right by the hotel! It was sort of the old meeting the new.
Our booked tour included ALL our meals and even drinks with dinner. Having been on some tours which offered meals, we went in with our eyes opened and didn't expect anything but sustanence. We were shocked when we were told to order from the menu and were given a choice on our starter course, our entree, AND dessert. This was NOT a feeding trough for run-of-the mill hoardes of tourists. Our orders looked like something one would see on the food channel networks! I can't even describe my salad but it should have been the subject of a painting . . . but I happily ate it anyway! I had roasted lamb for dinner and my adventurous son ordered pork belly. He had never had pork belly and it certainly didn't look like 'basic' food. Besides the fork tender meat, they had taken slivers of the fat and provided crisp curls of deep-fried (bad for you, of course!)contrast to the meal. Between the two of us, we couldn't decide who had gotten the best deal. My dessert was a chocolate cream strawberry tart. My son got what is called an Eton Mess which somes from some historic dessert that got thrown together for dessert at the college once upon a time. Believe me, it didn't get presented as college cafeteria fare that evening.
After dinner, we had a meeting to discuss how the next day would start, some more about the tour, and to get to know each other. Good food, a bit of rest, and like-minded company promised a great tour.
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